I am velvety-smoothReview is BELOWI am veltely smooth, too
_______
DVD: North by Northwest (1959)
 
       
Review Rating:   Very Good  
...back to Index
N to O
   
Label/Studio:
Warner Brothers 
 
Catalog #:
65016
 
...or start from scratch
A
Region:
1 (NTSC)
Released:

August 29, 2000

 

 

 
Genre: Suspense/Comedy  
Synopsis:
Ad exec Roger Thornhill has been mistaken for a government agent and is chased all over the country by both nefarious spies and G-men. Only one person is helping him, a beautiful damsel.  

 

 

Directed by:

Alfred Hitchcock
Screenplay by: Ernest Lehman
Music by: Bernard Herrmann
Produced by: (none credited)
Cast:

Cary Grant,  Eva Marie Saint,  James Mason,  Jessie Royce Landis,  Leo G. Carroll,  Josephine Hutchinson,  Philip Ober,  Martin Landau

Film Length: 136 mins Process/Ratio: VistaVision/1.85:1
Colour Anamorphic DVD: Yes
Languages: English Dolby 5.1
 
Special Features :  

Audio Commentary by Screenwriter Ernest Lehman / Documentary: "Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North By Northwest" hosted by Eva Marie Saint (39:26) / Isolated score / 2 Theatrical trailers

 
 
Comments :

Though revisited from the initial snapper case release from August 2000 among Warner Bros' September 2004 Hitchcock wave, "North By Northwest" still remains a benchmark in DVD mastering. The matte colour palette of the film's VistaVision photography tended to look a bit washed out in surviving 35mm prints, but the digital cleanup really makes the film glow without affecting colour balance and gray/black levels. Considered a reference disc by some reviewers, it's rather fitting this historical film is a high standard for those seeking optimum picture quality for their home theatre systems.

The sound mix is also a good arrangement of the surviving audio stems, particularly Bernard Herrmann's sublime score. Using a maniacal fandango over MGM's roaring logo, the score's unrelenting drive frequently booms through the discreet Dolby 5.1 mix; Herrmann's gentle (and tongue-in-cheek) love theme and eddying string passages also resonate with pretty good clarity. (The original music stems weren't all in the best of shape, but the rescue effort manages to preserve the score's power and delicious wit in the revised mix. Though Rhino's soundtrack CD offers unused and alternate cues, the DVD's music-only track gives viewers the chance to experience the film in a whole new light.)

Herrmann is actually credited by screenwriter Ernest Lehman for suggesting a collaboration between himself, a self-described Hitchcock fan, and the director. Most of Lehman's commentary is very slow and spotty and should have been edited into thematic paragraphs with scene-specific index points, but the track was admittedly recorded during DVD's relatively early days.

Lehman revisits some of the topics discussed by himself in the lengthy featurette, but overall fans should glean some excellent anecdotes about the script's genesis ("the ultimate Hitchcock film," according to Lehman), and the research that took the writer across the United States before finally sitting down and hammering out sixtypages of gold.

As furthered in the featurette, those sixty pages won over the director, and the production came together while Hitchcock was struggling to figure out "The Wreck of the Mary Deare," his second and unfulfilled commitment for MGM. Hosted by Eva Marie Saint, the featurette follows the film's production across the continental U.S. with generous stills, brief interviews with actor Martin Landau, and Lehman addressing the jealous male interplay between Landau and sleek James Mason.

The featurette covers a lot of ground, though veteran DVD fans will find the pacing less hurried and visually hyper than more contemporary installments; the fact Saint is allowed to walk and talk at her own pace is oddly rare, since most featurettes are frequently tailored from five to twenty-second soundbites.

The disc's archives also include an alternate trailer, with Hitchcock playing travel host before scenes from the archived standard theatrical trailer. A still gallery also captures forty-four vintage production images, poster art, and stills from recent interviews for the DVD's featurette.

This Warner Bros title is available separately or as part of the Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection that includes: “Strangers On A Train,” “Mr. And Mrs. Smith,” “Suspicion,” “North By Northwest,” “Dial M For Murder,” “Foreign Correspondent,” “The Wrong Man,” “Stage Fright” and “I Confess

© 2004 Mark R. Hasan

Bzzz-bzz-bazzz-brzzoom!
_IMDB Entry________Script Online _________Fan/Official Film site________Cast/Crew Link
_IMDB Detailed Entry_______Scripts available online ________Fan/Official Film Site__________Additional Related Sites
____Amazon.com __________Amazon.ca _________Bay Street Video_______Comparisons_
__Amazon.com info____Amazon.com info____Basy Street Video info______Compare Different Region releases_
_Soundtrack CD__________CD Review__________LP Review__________Composer Filmog.
Soundtrack Album_________Soundtrack Review_______Yes, VINYL_________Composer Filmography/Discography at Soundtrack Collector.com
Brrr-boooshi-bzz-bazzah!
 
 
Vrrfpt-Voot-Voot-Voot!
 

Site designed for 1024 x 768 resolution, using 16M colours, and optimized for MS Explorer 6.0. KQEK Logo and All Original KQEK Art, Interviews, Profiles, and Reviews Copyright © 2001-Present by Mark R. Hasan. All Rights Reserved. Additional Review Content by Contributors 2001-Present used by Permission of Authors. Additional Art Copyrighted by Respective Owners. Reproduction of any Original KQEK Content Requires Written Permission from Copyright Holder and/or Author. Links to non-KQEK sites have been included for your convenience; KQEK is not responsible for their content nor their possible use of any pop-ups, cookies, or information gathering.

 
__